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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Well, it is finally done! 51 weeks from purchasing of fabric to completion. This quilt is for my husband, the first one I have ever made for him. Tammy Spencer quilted it. Many other quilts were made in those 51 weeks and my dh kindly let his quilt be put aside for all the other ones that had tighter deadlines. I love him and appreciate him very much. He has supported me in my quilting endeavours for many years. As our wedding song said "No words can convey, these feelings inside I have for you."

Friday, May 29, 2009

My swap blocks have arrived. They came in the mail yesterday. I was so happy! I have been very sick for a week and they were just the thing to cheer me up. Every one of them is so beautiful and so unique. Thank you to all who participated with me in the swap, and a huge thank you to Jane who organized it all. She also sent 4 lovely coasters. I am not sure yet how I am going to put them into a quilt. I am also doing the Four seasons quilt swap summer block which is a colour block so I think I am going to wait until I get those and try to put it all together. If you want to see an already put together quilt check out Mushyhed. She has done a fantastic job and I love the pink blocks she has added.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I am so excited. It is time for the Sew, Mama, Sew! May Giveaway Day. I am giving away 4 fat quarters from the Dick and Jane fabric line, 2 tablerunner patterns and 2 Dresden plate notecards. I had thought a lot about what question to ask you for the giveaway and then on Sunday my daughter asked me "Why do you quilt so much?" My quick answer to her was that I like keeping people warm and I can't sleep with everybody. (My daughter is 4 and likes to sleep with me.) So this is what you need to do to enter the giveaway.

1) Tell me where you are from.

2) Tell me why you quilt so much?

3) The giveaway is open until May 31st at 11:59 pm EST. I will be drawing the name randomly on June 1, when the winner will be announced. I will ship internationally and will contact the winner to get his/her address on June 1st.

That's it! I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy all of the giveaways.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Here is a finished quilt for my daughter. I caIled it April Showers. I finished it two weeks ago, for the first finish of my Spring to Finish 2. She picked out the fabric and pattern (5 and dime by All Washed Up). I had something on hold for me at a LQS in November. She and I were out doing something other errands and I decided to go to the store because I would only be in and out. Well, she changed my plans. She found this fat quarter kit and decided we just had to buy it. Of course I did. Then at Christmas time I got a gift certificate for another quilt store. Well, we went there together, and found the pattern which we liked better. We also chose the cupcake fabric because there were some fabrics I did not like in the kit and bought the backing there as well which I just love. I like the movement from babies to children in terms of quilting. It is neat to learn more about children so that their quilts become more personalized. Tammy did a fabulous job on the quilting.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Well, my long weekend turned out great. I got a lot of quilting accomplished. I also got to do all the stuff with the kids that we had wanted to do together.

I finally decided on a pattern for my dad's quilt. I have 3 weeks to get it ready to take to the quilter. I have one block done, and only 29 left to do.

I tried out the yellow centre for the 9 patch a long. I like how it looks.

I also got my paper pieced block done for the Spring Blossoms Quilt Swap. I just need to add the borders now. The great part of the block is that everything came from my stash. I really enjoy paper piecing. It has been a few years since I have done it. I have a tea paper pieced wall hanging kit that my mom bought for me years ago that I have not yet done. I am definitely going to be getting to it soon.

I also sewed on the binding for my husband's quilt. Now I just have to hand stitch it to the back. I also got the label done for my daughter's quilt. I will show you the quilt tomorrow.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

I spend so much time talking and organzing and working on my quilting I thought I would show you an end product. Here is a quilt I made last winter for a family member and good friend. It is the disappearing 9 patch. She is also a quilter. We went last spring to the Creativ festival together. This was a quilt kit. She had never bought a kit before so when she wasn't around I bought it for her. I brought it home at first thinking that I would make it for her and then deciding that since she had never bought a kit I would give her the kit for Christmas for her to make. It was my dh who decided that I should make it for her and I am glad I did. It is such an easy pattern and I loved the fabrics. It was a colour palette that I had never used before. I had someone quilt it for me. She was very happy to receive it at Christmas. We do not get to see each other as much as we wish but she is often in my thoughts. She has just retired and I hope she is enjoying every minute of it!

Friday, May 15, 2009

I am working on my 9 patch quilt along with AmandaJean. I have only 7 done and by Sunday I should have 21 done. Last weekend I bought a charm pack because I was not happy with some of the scraps I had. I do have fat quarters that I like.I want to turn it into a double size quilt for my daughter so I wanted some new fabrics that would suit her and I like the idea of added variety. I love the charm pack idea. The only problem I realized is that I can only get 4 squares out of each one, so I can't do a complete 9 patch with them. Yesterday I read Red Pepper Quilts blog and I love what she is doing. She is making the 9 patch completely scrappy and having a white centre as the middle. I really like it and it would solve my problem of the charm pack. So here is where I need help. Is it copying if I do something similar to hers? I would still use only 2 fabrics in each square but have white as the centre. I have done 2 quilts that have used the similar floating technique and I really like both of them. I would use my 7 squares to make a doll quilt. Please let me know what you think.

Here are the items I bought at the quilt show on Saturday. I used my winnings from the 50/50 draw at my guild to buy the King Tut thread. I love variegated thread and the pencil was a good bargain. I bought the layer cake to go with my Mountain Mystery quilt. I am trying to make it as scrappy as possible. I normally don't buy panels but I really liked it. I like the quilts that use a panel and then put squares around it. I think I am going to do that with this panel and then practice my quilting. Hand or machine, I am not sure. I definitely need practice with both. I also cheated a bit and bought a charm pack as well as a couple of fqs for my 9 patch quilt along. The quilt will be for my daughter and most of my children fabric is bright and bold. I wanted to add some softer touches to it as well. AmandaJean posted today asking how people were doing on the quilt a long. I am a 1 1/2 weeks behind so I hoping to take this long weekend to catch up.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Well, I have joined another swap. I am blaming this on Jane. ;-) She made my first swap such a wonderful experience that I have now joined 2 more. I think that is my limit for now though. This seems like a fun and fast one. Create a pincushion and send it to your partner. It is all kept secret. We had details to fill out, and this time I did fill them out. I have a few ideas for the pincushion but the swap talks about creating your best work. I'll do my best but I am not expecting perfection. I have until July 18th so it does give me time to come up with something wonderful. The sign up continues until May 23 if anyone is interested.

Sew Mama Sew is organizing another giveaway day on May 27th. I am going to be participating but I am not yet sure what I will be giving away. I think I know what I am going to be making for my partner for the Spring Blooms Swaps. I looked at a lot of patterns and then sketching one on my own. After I had sketched it out, I found a very similar pattern that was paper-pieced. I am going to try it because it has been a few years since I have done any paper piecing. I am hoping to get it done this weekend. It is a long weekend here in Canada because we have Victoria Day on Monday. I am getting my projects all lined up. It is also the weekend to plant vegetables and flowers with my children.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Well, I have gotten my partner for the swap. Now I know what it feels like to be on Project Runway Canada! I have a wonderful partner but creating a quilt is going to be harder than I thought. I need to consider her interests, my abilities and what I like to do. I want it to be something she will like, but I also want it to have some of me in it. I have been trying to read the blogs of the other members to get a feel for what they are doing. Some are nervous like me, others know what they are doing, some are already finished and others are trying out different techniques. I do have many ideas but I have not yet decided on which one I will choose. I have not given my partner any preferences which may or may not have been a good thing. If you are my partner I will appreciate anything you make. I like bold bright colours, deep saturated colours and pastels. I have never been into country colours but I am now making 2 quilts with those colours and I really like them. I like the traditional designs and the newer ones. Everything I have seen so far being made I have thought is been wonderful and I wished I have thought of it /owned it. Enjoy your creativity, have fun and surprise me! There are not enough surprises in the world and I normally don't liked to be surprised. I hope that helps! I am going to continue on my search for a great mini-quilt!

Monday, May 11, 2009

The necklace on the left was made by my son. Pink is my favourite colour. The necklace on the left was given to me by my daughter. She picked it out all on her own. I had a wonderful Mother's Day. We went away for the weekend and on Saturday I got to go to a quilt show. I have some pictures to show that I took, as well as some "stash" photos.

Friday, May 8, 2009

with myself! I take so much care of things for others, but I don't do it for myself. I was finishing up my Spring Meadow quilt this morning (6:30 am) and I start working at 8:00 am. It was being sent off to the quilter's today and I still had to cut the batting. I was not even going to get it ready at first, because I am going away this weekend and needed to pack. Then I thought that's crazy! I am so close to finishing and of course if it had been anyone else's quilt it would have been already ready. When I put it in the bag to go, I realized that one of the seams had folded over, leaving a little hole. That's when I got really frustrated with myself. I know that it can easily to happen but I have had nothing but headaches for a quilt which should have been easy. It has though I have to make things hard for myself for no apparent reason. I did not give up though, fixed it and now it is ready to go. Quilting teaches you so many lessons about life.

When I got to work I read my horoscope and this is what it said :Progress may seem slow but it is happening. It simply can't be rushed. Challenge the harsh assessment of your situation by your own critical faculties. Your mood will soon lighten up.

It made a lot of sense to me. This weekend I am going away with my family. We have each chosen one thing which we want to do. I am looking forward to recharging myself and spending time with them.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

I forgot to mention that one of the quilters in the guild had done Bonnie's Double Delight pattern. It was great to see it in person. I also got myself into a magazine. Okay, it was my back half. My guild sent in photos of our guild show last year and there is a picture of myself and my friend looking at the quilts. It was really neat to see. I have also joined 2 more groups. One is AmandaJean's 9-patch quilt a-long. It is sometime I am hoping to do with my daughter. The other one is the Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap. I have never entered a quilt swap before and I am hoping my quilt partner will like what I have made. I have a few ideas in mind but we did get to tell our preferences so I will have to wait and see.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Well, I just came back from my quilt guild meeting and I had a fabulous time. We had a guest speaker who has many incredible quilting talents also collects purses. She brought many of her samples, many of which were embroidered. She had many beautiful examples. I got to see quilts squares that I had made for our community squares put into a finished quilt. It was pretty powerful to see. It is my second year in the guild, so it was the first time I had been involved in the community quilts. Then the woman who does block of the month used one of my blocks as an example of what she had been receiving. This year for block of the month we are creating one large quilt to donate and as part of it, there are many stars blocks. I did also agree to do the newsletter for the guild next year. Finally, I also won our 50/50 draw this month. I will get to spend the money this weekend when I attend a quilt show.

Well, I have given in to parental pressure. My mother wants to me to have my dad's quilt ready for Father's Day. I was planning on giving it to him for his birthday in October. I had all of the fabric and pattern ready, I just needed to start it. Well, now I have. I am going to be making a log cabin quilt. The pattern is from The Teacher's Pets. The jelly roll is Miss Jump's Scrap Bag. I love the richness of the fabrics. I know he will love it. My dad and I are very close. We are so much alike in our likes and personality.

This is my daughter's work in progress. Her favourite thing to do is to take all of the scraps from my quilting room, lay them out on a table and turn it into a quilt. She is very creative. She tried to get her brother to help her but he was a little less certain about it.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Well, Spring to Finish 2 is starting. It has been decided to keep the project going until the end of May. On my to do list, finish the binding on my husband's quilt, get my dad's quilt top done, finish my placemat for my guild's June dinner, and finish my tulip table runner. As well, I am now participating in the Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap. It should be quite a month.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Well, Spring to Finish is over and I think I have done pretty well considering I did not do any quilting for the 1st two weeks of April. I always have a hard time balancing, between family, housework, quilting and everything else. I got my rainbow swap done and made a table runner for my mother. I finally finished my Spring Meadow top, which I am definitely keeping for myself. I put the binding on my daughter's quilt and just have a little bit left of it to sew. I was too tired last night to finish it. I cut off the excess backing and batting from my husband's quilt, so now I can start working on the binding. I organized and started sewing my moutain mystery quilt which I am going to use for my leader and enders. I have my bright stripes quilt worked out. The pattern called for 4 inch Triangles on a roll. I have 3 inch triangles on a roll at home. I went to my local quilt stores and none of them had it. One store did have though a great fabric for a border. I have decided to use up my 3 inch triangles and add a border instead. I have had a mantra for a while now, that I have everything I need, now use it. I have found that it is really been helping me. So, in the end officially for the challenge I have one project done, but I know I have done so much more.